Poll Steve Clarke's First Interview as an LFC Coach

[Peatcheo]

Steve Clarke has admitted the lure of working for Kenny Dalglish and Liverpool Football Club was an opportunity he couldn't turn down.


In an exclusive interview with the club website, our new first-team coach talks about his hopes for the rest of the season, how much he's looking forward to a Merseyside derby debut and why Joe Cole will prove the doubters wrong at Anfield.

Steve welcome to Liverpool Football Club, how honoured are you to be here?

It's an absolute privilege to be here and working for this football club. Liverpool is one of the biggest clubs in the world and when they come and ask you to work for them you don't say no. You also get here as quickly as you can, which is what I did!

When did you first find out about Liverpool's interest?

I first spoke to Kenny on Sunday after the FA Cup tie against Manchester United. He gave me a call and asked me would I be interested in joining his coaching team. It was a very easy answer. Since the summer I have been sitting in the house and not working. I've enjoyed my time out of the game and had a good relaxing time with my family and my wife. It was time to get back in and when Kenny asked if I was interested I came straight up here.

You are contracted to stay until the end of the season - do you hope it could extend beyond that?

I always say be careful not to get ahead of yourself. The contract is until the end of the season and hopefully short term we can do the job that has been asked of us, and then when we get to the end of the season then is the time to sit down and discuss the future.

Is Liverpool a club you've always had a huge admiration for?

The club speaks for itself. The amount of trophies that Liverpool Football Club has won is fantastic and it is one of the biggest clubs in the world. For me it's a personal honour to be working for this club.

How much respect do you have for Kenny Dalglish?

Massive. Kenny was a big player in Scotland when I was growing up when he played for Celtic and then when he moved up to Liverpool he became a legend here. He won numerous caps for Scotland as well so when I was growing up Kenny was a Scottish football icon so to have the opportunity to work beside him is great.

Was he a hero of yours as a young boy growing up in Scotland?

Kenny was certainly someone you looked at and be inspired at what he achieved but I was never one for heroes as a young boy. I just followed my own path and hoped that one day I would be good enough in the future, but certainly Kenny as a football man is up there with the greats.

How much are you looking forward to working with Kenny and Sammy Lee to try and improve Liverpool's fortunes?

For me it's a great opportunity to get the football boots back on, to get the notepad back out and hopefully put some good training drills on and get the team moving in the right direction which is what everyone wants. Kenny wants that, Sammy wants that and I want that. Our supporters want it and everybody wants this football club to be back on the right track moving forward and that is what we are going to do.

What qualities can you bring to Liverpool?

I have got good experience having worked with a lot of top coaches and now I hope to add to that with Kenny. I think my best qualities are my organisational skills and hopefully I can put in good practices that will allow the lads to develop individually and more importantly for the short term to develop as a team and become stronger.

Of course you were on the bench alongside Jose Mourinho for the two Champions League semi-finals at Anfield - how impressed were you with the atmosphere on the Kop - especially the first tie in 2005?

That's why a club like Liverpool is special because you come here as an opponent and you understand from the outside how much this club means to the people of Liverpool and how much passion people have for Liverpool Football Club. So when you've tasted that passion as an opponent it's only natural you want to come here as a friend and feel the same intensity and atmosphere. If we can get a night like that again while we are here that will be great. Hopefully we will get it in the big derby at the weekend.

Obviously it was a disappointing night at Blackpool on Wednesday - what did you make of the performance?

Ultimately the result was disappointing but I think there were some good signs. Certainly the way we started the game very lively and very sharp, and but for a little bit of misfortune we could have been going through one on one for a second goal and instead we lost possession, got caught on the counter attack and conceded a goal. You could see when it went 1-1 the confidence of the players was a bit low and it took them a little bit of time to recover from that and they didn't quite get back to the same level we started with. But we can work on that and even in the second half we had some good opportunities but we didn't make the most of them. If we can do that then we will certainly be back on the right track to get where we should be in the league.

From what you've seen on the training ground so far are the players desperate to get back on the pitch for the derby and put things right?

Since we came to the club the work on the training ground has been fantastic. The lads have responded well. They were disappointed to lose against Blackpool as you would expect but we had a very good positive response on the training pitch on Friday and hopefully when we kick-off on Sunday we will be flying.

You've played in London derbies with Chelsea but how much are you looking forward to the Merseyside derby?

I am really looking forward to it. Local derbies are great and you feel the passion in these games. I have never been to a Merseyside derby, even as a spectactor, so for me with it being the first home game as well it's extra special, but the only thing that will make it extra special is if we win the game.

There's going to be a fantastic atmosphere at Anfield on Sunday with it being Kenny's first home game as manager for a second time - how much can that inspire the players?

Bring it on and we can't wait for the game. The players are going to give it everything to get the victory. We understand what it means to the Liverpool supporters and it means the same to us as well.

Coming to Anfield has seen you reunited with Joe Cole again. He has been very unfortunate with injuries so how big a player could he be for Liverpool once he gets an injury free run?

I know Joe very well and know what he is capable of. Joe in particular has had a stop-start Liverpool career as he's had a few injuries and it hasn't quite gone for him but I know the qualities Joe has got. I know what he can bring to this club and hopefully in the next couple of weeks you will start to see that coming through.

 

[RedKev]

The interview can be summarized as such.

How great is Liverpool? How great is Kenny? How great is it to work here? oh and what are you good at?

 

[Squiggles]

Obviously it was a disappointing night at Blackpool on Wednesday - what did you make of the performance?

Ultimately the result was disappointing but I think there were some good signs. Certainly the way we started the game very lively and very sharp, and but for a little bit of misfortune we could have been going through one on one for a second goal and instead we lost possession, got caught on the counter attack and conceded a goal. You could see when it went 1-1 the confidence of the players was a bit low and it took them a little bit of time to recover from that and they didn't quite get back to the same level we started with. But we can work on that and even in the second half we had some good opportunities but we didn't make the most of them. If we can do that then we will certainly be back on the right track to get where we should be in the league.

I hate this sort of bullshit. We were shit. Don't scrape the barrel for positives.

It was unacceptable performance and a shit team selection.

 

[manwithnoname]

Maybe so, but I don't think his very first interview was likely to be the right place for that kind of honesty

 

[Woland]

He should have told us straight that this squad is fucking shit compared to Chelsea under Maureen and he's fucked if he knows what to do.

 

[King Binny]

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish hopes the arrival of former Chelsea assistant Steve Clarke will help him find the key to unlocking the talent of Glen Johnson and Joe Cole.

The pair arguably had their best spells under Jose Mourinho and Clarke at Stamford Bridge but since arriving at Anfield, Johnson in June 2009 and Cole a year later, they have failed to live up to expectations.

Johnson has been woefully out of form this season while Cole has had to overcome suspension and injury and has yet to nail down a regular first-team place.

It was a conundrum which Dalglish's predecessor Roy Hodgson failed to solve during his six months in charge but the Scot is hopeful the highly-regarded Clarke, brought in on Monday, can provide some answers.

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish hopes the arrival of former Chelsea assistant Steve Clarke will help him find the key to unlocking the talent of Glen Johnson and Joe Cole.

The pair arguably had their best spells under Jose Mourinho and Clarke at Stamford Bridge but since arriving at Anfield, Johnson in June 2009 and Cole a year later, they have failed to live up to expectations.

Johnson has been woefully out of form this season while Cole has had to overcome suspension and injury and has yet to nail down a regular first-team place.

It was a conundrum which Dalglish's predecessor Roy Hodgson failed to solve during his six months in charge but the Scot is hopeful the highly-regarded Clarke, brought in on Monday, can provide some answers.
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"It is a positive because Steve and Glen have terrific respect for each other, as has Joe for Steve," said the Reds boss.

"They worked closely at Chelsea and they have a great belief in him.

"Steve has a lot more information on Glen and Joe than I have so it is going to be helpful for everyone."

Dalglish has not had the immediate impact he would have hoped for having cut short a family holiday to take over from Hodgson last Saturday and heads into tomorrow's game with a team which have lost four of their last five domestic league and cup fixtures.

Confidence has taken a battering and even his own return to the manager's position, although bringing brighter performances on the pitch, has not halted the slide.

He does not have much time to turn things around, having been given the job initially until the end of the season, and accepts everyone is still coming to terms with the new set up.

"It is a bit difficult when you are in the middle of the Persian Gulf to try to prepare a team for a game," said Dalglish in reference to last weekend's SOS call from owner John Henry.

"Steve Clarke has been excellent this week and the players have responded brilliantly.

"Steve and Sammy Lee (assistant manager) have set the programme up and we've had conversations every morning about what we want to achieve in that session and they have gone out and the players have adapted to it and done it.

"They have shown in training sessions and the matches they are determined to get this ship turned around and for it to be more positive than it has been.

"It is a change for them (the players) as well. A change of manager, change of training - they have got to adapt and I've got to adapt because it's been a while since I was a manager.

"I have changes to make and I have to re-educate myself so the quicker we can all learn from each other the better we will all be.

"There is one common denominator of both parties is that we have respect for each other."

 

[King Binny]

http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/you-cant-beat-a-good-coach-once-hes-not-a-threat-2498021.html

There are few things more enjoyable than playing football professionally. Every day, for a relatively short length of time, you get to do what you most want to do.

That's the way it's meant to be, but you'd be surprised at how easily a coach can ruin things. Following the sacking of Ray Wilkins at Chelsea and the appointment last week of Steve Clarke at Liverpool, there has been much discussion as to what exactly a first-team coach does. Clarke is renowned for his innovative training sessions and has been a trusted and much-respected figure among the players wherever he's gone.

The role of a first-team coach is fairly ambiguous. I worked with some who, because of their relationship with the manager at the time, were little more than cone-carrying assistants who collected the balls after training finished. There were others who merely took charge of the warm-up and warm-down each day, and took part in training when the teams needed to be evened up. They took care of the water bottles too.

In many cases, the coach's input can be determined by how secure the manager feels in his own position and whether the coach is perceived to be a threat. There are countless examples of roles being filled as a result of promoting from within, so this is never too far from the minds of those in charge. Sam Allardyce appears to be the most recent victim of such a policy. It may be difficult for some to understand, but not every manager is comfortable working with an excellent number two.

The most impressive coach -- and person -- I ever encountered during my career was Kenny Dalglish's former assistant at Blackburn Rovers, Ray Harford. Regarded by all he worked with as an outstanding coach, he had relatively unsuccessful stints as a manager, most notably at Blackburn following Dalglish's decision to quit. If there was ever a discussion after that on how coaching and management were two different roles requiring completely different skills, he was always the example given.

During my time working with him, training each day was more enjoyable than it had ever been. He knew a vast number of drills and games to help develop every part of our play, and delivered his message in a way we could all understand. He worked very well with the manager at the time and was affectionately referred to as 'Uncle Ray' by many of us. He stepped down from his role due to illness and his departure was as much of an upheaval as that of any manager who had left before him. Every player willing to work improved considerably, and every one of us knew it was down to his input.

Coaches don't get credited, or blamed, for results, but if given the freedom to work as they wish, they are often the only voice to be heard during training. Whether the manager is looking on from the sidelines or not, the success of the session is down to the coach. If mistakes are being made each weekend, he'll spend all week working to eradicate them. It's as important a role as the manager in many ways, but also incredibly different.

As Ray and many others would learn over time, your ability as a coach has little bearing on your chances of making it as a boss. The demands of each are so varied. So too is the relationship each role permits you to have with the players.

Coaches don't pick the team so players don't feel the need to resent their judgement. Coaches don't hand out fines, turn down transfer requests, refuse to offer new contracts or make substitutions. Whether they have an input or not into each decision, coaches never get blamed by players for decisions that go against them. That's why players are often closer to the coaching staff than they could ever be to the manager. Anyway, you never get slagged by team-mates for attempting to befriend the coach. Try doing that with the boss and you'll be ripped to shreds in the dressing room straight away.

Steve Clarke knows it will take a lot more than original training drills and a trustworthy manner to transform Liverpool's fortunes, but his input will be as significant as that of Dalglish. Enjoying the support of the board, the respect of the players, and the love of the crowd, Dalglish has handed the role of improving the performances of his squad to the man who coached Chelsea to two titles under Jose Mourinho.

Dalglish's greatest success in management came at a time when training consisted of five-a-side games every day. His team passed, and they moved, and more often than not they won. The game has changed a lot since then. Unfortunately for him, so too has the standard of players at his disposal.

 

[mark1975]

"It is a positive because Steve and Glen have terrific respect for each other, as has Joe for Steve," said the Reds boss.

So Steve doesn't respect Joe then? 😉

 

[peekay]

Kudos to him. Our defense looks class and I am sure he had a big role to play.

 

[TheBunnyman]

Could well be. I must admit I'd never thought of Kenny as a master-tactician, so it's quite possible Clarke was partly responsible for our strategy today.

 

[robinhood]

Not taking anything away from Clarke, but I'm pretty sure Kenny knows what he's doing.

 

[reuque]

If Kenny gets the job, I hope Clarke stays. Only logical given FSG's policy of having a 'team of people' working on the team rather than a manager who has sole power. And Clarke's record ain't too shabby either.

 

[rebel23]

I think Clarke has a big future at Liverpool if he wants it which I think he does

 

[the count]

I didn't realise that Steve Clarke was on a short term contract as well. I had assumed that it was a long term one.
Once the decision is made to keep Kenny on, Clarke should also be tied down to a long contract.

I am sure there are quite a few clubs looking at our recent revival, and assuming that Clarke has had a huge part to play in that and thinking that he could do the job for them.

Chelsea lost their first team coach a few months back didn't they?
He might be tempted by a return there if an offer came his way.

 

[grumpymonkey 2.0]

Always rated Clarke as a coach and was surprised and delighted that he was a) available and b) we got him.

His appointment, alongside that of Commoli, speaks volumes about FSG's desire to bring in the best people available at all levels of the club, rather than just trying to grab some limelight with a marquee signing or two.

Our improvement in defence and organisation since Clarke came on board is vast. Hope he gets a long term contract.

 

[King Binny]

While Kenny Dalglish is the front man for Liverpool’s revival, another Scot will be quietly exerting considerable influence behind the scenes.

Steve Clarke has got used to being a supporting act, operating as a kind of senior sous chef, laying the groundwork for the executive head chef.

Yet even the most successful managers admit they are only as good as the staff they have assembled around them, which is promising news for Liverpool given the esteem that Clarke is held within the game.

The influence of the club’s first-team coach, whose arrival came only 48 hours after that of Dalglish, will have been felt at Anfield over the last 25 days, according to Charlton assistant manager Alex Dyer, who worked alongside Clarke for two years at West Ham.

“If I know him, he will be taking training,†Dyer told Goal.com UK. “He likes to be at the heart of things when it comes to organising sessions. At West Ham, he would be in first thing in the morning planning out his sessions and would know what the team needed to do to improve.

“The manager and him will work together but he will control the session. He is the head coach. The manager will say what he thinks they need to do on that day and Steve will put together a session to work around that.â€

Clarke’s methods seem to chime with the more offensive pass and move style that has been re-established at Liverpool following the conservatism of the Roy Hodgson regime.

“If you don’t like his [Clarke’s] training sessions, then you shouldn’t be in the game,†added Dyer. “Most of the players I know loved his sessions. He likes to play the ball on the ground with quick passing and play at a high tempo.

“He is very encouraging with the players but likes things done with a good attitude to the training. He is calm in what he does but the lads know they can’t stand there having a chat. There is no wasting time. He is very organised. His sessions are planned to the tee.â€

Clarke is no stranger to working in the background for high profile clubs and managers. After a long playing career at Chelsea, he went on to assist Ruud Gullit and Sir Bobby Robson at Newcastle United before returning to Stamford Bridge to work directly under Jose Mourinho, Avram Grant and, briefly, Luiz Felipe Scolari before accepting a role as Gianfranco Zola’s deputy at West Ham.

Dalglish is the latest big name to summon Clarke’s expertise to organise training drills, act as an experienced tactical sounding board and be a conduit between the manager and the players.

“Mourinho is the best manager I played for and Steve Clarke is the best assistant coach,†said former Chelsea midfielder Alexey Smertin, who played for 10 clubs in Russia, France and England in his 16-year professional career. “The manager picks the team and his neck is on the block but he needs good support around him.

“Mourinho and Clarke were brilliant at getting in the heads of each player in the squad. They would know what you were feeling.

“At Chelsea, there was a great chemistry between them and they knew their roles. Mourinho was the leader and strong psychologically but Clarke was very approachable and could talk to the players at the same level. You could be honest with him. He was a funny guy as well. I don’t know too many players who didn’t like him.â€

Dyer has no doubt that the 47-year-old would have played a part in Liverpool’s resurgence under Dalglish, including three consecutive wins and clean sheets going into Sunday’s mouth-watering clash at the club where he established his coaching reputation.

“Of course, he would have helped Dalglish all the way,†observed Dyer. “I don’t know Mr Dalglish but I know Steve Clarke and I know he would have had a hand in their improvement.

“He is a good enough coach to improve players and teams. It’s all about getting people to play at their maximum potential and he is able to do that.

“I have learned a lot from him in terms of organising sessions and knowing what you want from sessions. The most important thing is for players to enjoy what they are doing. When they are happy, they perform at their best. His methods work. At Chelsea, they won everything apart from the Champions League, and they only lost that on penalties.â€

Clarke has a reputation for being dour and taciturn among the media but those who know him well say he is a jovial presence in the dressing room.

“He has a good sense of humour and is a good guy,†said Dyer. “Of course, he is a buffer between the manager and the players. That’s what coaches do. He is very approachable and good at showing players both sides of the argument.â€

Much of Clarke’s confidence came from his stint with Mourinho. Clarke was a youth-team coach at Chelsea before the Portuguese promoted him as soon as they met. When Mourinho left and Chelsea threatened to implode under Avram Grant, it was Clarke who stayed and defused the tension. He felt marginalised under Scolari.

The Scot is on record as saying he has ambitions to be a Premier League manager, and his greatest fan is the world’s most celebrated coach. “This is what I think about Steve Clarke: if he had the chance to manage a club, even a big club like Chelsea, he would be ready for that. He is that good,†Mourinho has said.

Yet Clarke is not a Phil Neal-style nodding accomplice to the main man. "He has his own ideas and he is not afraid of saying them," said Smertin. "He didn't just agree with Mourinho at Chelsea. He had his own thoughts on tactics and players and Mourinho would listen and go with him. He is a very smart guy and knows football."

With two canny Scots at the helm, Liverpool might consider themselves to be in safe hands.

 

[Avmenon]

Has Kenny worked with him before when he was at Newcastle?

I thought it a strange appointment, but it seems to be working well so far.

 

[Judge Jules]

Why strange, Avvy? I was a lot more surprised to realise that Clarke was "between clubs" in the first place.

 

[RolandG]

Spearing said that Clarke has the lads buzzing in training.

So plaudits to Kenny for roping him in when Sammy was already in place.

 

[Avmenon]

Oh no, I think he's excellent..just thought he'd have hired people he has worked with previously.

 

[spider-Neil]

the coach is almost as important as the manager. with our previous two manager you can argue they weren't as effective when they lost their initial number 2

gh - patrice bergues - at liverpool 1998-2001 (treble)
rafa - paco ayestarán - at liverpool 2004-2007 (CL, FAC)

 

[RolandG]

Well isn't Kenny replicating TLW by creating his own Bootroom?

 

[King Binny]

Dalglish wasted no time in appointing Steve Clarke as his assistant and, day by day, that is proving to be a shrewd move — already the former Chelsea and West Ham assistant is being spoken of by many in the squad in the most complimentary terms.

Clarke is a quiet, unassuming figure but there is no doubt he has made an impact and, strange though this may sound, his addition to the backroom staff makes Liverpool’s dug-out seem a much more professional set-up.

Hodgson failed in his attempt to make Sami Hyypia his No 2 and, at times, it looked as if he was on his own on the touchline. Sammy Lee was on hand but Mike Kelly, the goalkeeping coach he brought from Fulham, would watch games from the directors’ box.

Now when Dalglish turns around during matches, he has the assiduous Clarke on hand to make observations, as well as the loyal servant Lee.

 

[Wizardry]

[quote author=Avvy link=topic=43641.msg1281230#msg1281230 date=1297111813]
Oh no, I think he's excellent..just thought he'd have hired people he has worked with previously.
[/quote]


I could be wrong but I thought they knew each other at Blackburn. Unless of course Clarke has never been at Blackburn in which case ignore me. I just thought I remembered him having some involvement there.

 

[Buddha]

When Carlo Ancelotti left Milan for Chelsea, he could hardly have imagined that the challenge in England would include a rendezvous with his old friend catenaccio. But that was what he confronted when Liverpool turned up at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. A mere 24 hours after the Premier League had indulged itself in an orgy of goals and delinquent defending, he faced opponents who had double?locked the back door.

These days players in England are seldom invited to perform in a line-up featuring three central defenders and two wing?backs. A defensive line of four is almost compulsory in the Premier League, as it is around the world. Even the tactically eccentric Diego Maradona abandoned his experiment with a three?man back line before arriving for the World Cup in South Africa last summer, although Napoli and Udinese have been employing it to some advantage in Serie A this season and Josep Guardiola used Sergio Busquets as a third centre?half when Barcelona beat Atlético Madrid away in September.

The last prominent English manager to feature the system with any regularity was Terry Venables, and look what happened when, acting as Steve McClaren's consigliere, he brought it back for a Euro 2008 qualifying match against Croatia in Zagreb, a 2-0 defeat remembered primarily for Paul Robinson's unfortunate air-kick and secondly for a high degree of tactical incoherence. Funnily enough, Jamie Carragher was one of the three members of the reshuffled rearguard that ill-fated night in October 2006, alongside John Terry and Rio Ferdinand, with Gary Neville and Ashley Cole as the wing?backs.

So Terry and Cole, at least, must have been amazed by what they witnessed on Sunday, when Liverpool sent out Carragher to act as a sort of libero alongside the man-markers Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger, with Martin Kelly and Glen Johnson pushed up the flanks. Chelsea's two strikers, Didier Drogba and Fernando Torres, found themselves comprehensively smothered, most spectacularly so half an hour into the first period, when Carragher flew across the penalty area to block Torres's shot after the Spaniard had eluded Skrtel. If the first reaction to that intervention was to admire the ferocity of Carragher's commitment, the second was to applaud the tactical thinking that enabled him to get there in the first place.

It turned out that Liverpool had employed the system once before in the weeks since Kenny Dalglish replaced Roy Hodgson. That was in the 2-0 home victory over Stoke City last Wednesday, when the extra centre?half – Sotirios Kyrgiakos on that occasion – must have come in useful to counter Rory Delap's long throws and the Potters' tall strikers, including the newly arrived John Carew. It seems likely that the plan can be credited to Steve Clarke, the former Chelsea player and assistant manager, who was appointed first-team coach at Anfield on 10 January, two days after Dalglish took over.

All very absorbing, but the moment that really caught the attention on Sunday came late in the game, five minutes after Liverpool had silenced Stamford Bridge by taking the lead. Ancelotti responded by making a couple of substitutions, one of them introducing David Luiz in place of José Bosingwa. While David Luiz took up his station alongside Terry in central defence, Branislav Ivanovic moved across to right?back, clearly with the intention of exploiting his pace and muscularity to make inroads into the left flank of the Liverpool defence. Two minutes later Liverpool withdrew Maxi Rodríguez and introduced Fábio Aurélio, normally a left?back but now deployed in front of Johnson, where the threat of his own pace and long-range shooting put an immediate restriction on Ivanovic's ambitions.

It was a small enough thing, but it showed that Liverpool's coaches were thinking on their feet and capable of swift adjustment. As the recent pronouncements of Carragher and Steven Gerrard made clear, Dalglish already has an emotional hold on the dressing room. Clarke could be the man to turn them into an interesting football team once again.

 

[Judge Jules]

[quote author=Wizardry link=topic=43641.msg1281398#msg1281398 date=1297145775]
[quote author=Avvy link=topic=43641.msg1281230#msg1281230 date=1297111813]
Oh no, I think he's excellent..just thought he'd have hired people he has worked with previously.
[/quote]


I could be wrong but I thought they knew each other at Blackburn. Unless of course Clarke has never been at Blackburn in which case ignore me. I just thought I remembered him having some involvement there.
[/quote]

Don't think he was ever at Blackburn but he was at Newcastle for a spell, though not under Kenny if I remember rightly. Maybe that's what you're thinking of.

 

[spider-Neil]

[quote author=Buddha link=topic=43641.msg1281482#msg1281482 date=1297154116]
All very absorbing, but the moment that really caught the attention on Sunday came late in the game, five minutes after Liverpool had silenced Stamford Bridge by taking the lead. Ancelotti responded by making a couple of substitutions, one of them introducing David Luiz in place of José Bosingwa. While David Luiz took up his station alongside Terry in central defence, Branislav Ivanovic moved across to right?back, clearly with the intention of exploiting his pace and muscularity to make inroads into the left flank of the Liverpool defence. Two minutes later Liverpool withdrew Maxi Rodríguez and introduced Fábio Aurélio, normally a left?back but now deployed in front of Johnson, where the threat of his own pace and long-range shooting put an immediate restriction on Ivanovic's ambitions.

[/quote]

great tactics. a reactive sub to change the game back in liverpool's favour. so much better than roy's bullshit subs on the 70th minute regardless of what was happening on the pitch.

 

[King Binny]

From today's Herald Scotland:

http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/more-scottish-football/zola-waiting-for-clarke-to-make-his-move-into-management-1.1092761

THE slight, almost fragile figure approaches a coffee table in a Glasgow hotel with the friendliest of smiles.

He shakes hands, politely requests a tea and remarks on the beauty of a Scottish day. He is the most unlikely terroriser of a generation’s defences.

Gianfranco Zola is a man who has been touched by greatness and was indeed nurtured by it. His brilliant career started under the tutelage of Diego Maradona at Napoli and flourished at Parma and Chelsea. His career in management stalled with his sacking at West Ham United, but he remains optimistic, undaunted.

His sojourn in Glasgow includes a charity dinner for The Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice in Carlton Place. He is happy to pose with Scotland’s other national drink as Barr Soft Drinks celebrate 15 years of sponsorship with the hospice dinner. He is content, too, to sip his tea and talk of matters parochial and international. Zola’s Scottish connection is not restricted to his love of golf and his eagerness to raise money for the hospice’s plan to build a facility to care for young people.

His strongest link to the country comes in the shape of Steve Clarke, Kenny Dalglish’s assistant at Liverpool, who was No.2 to Zola at West Ham. The pair met at Chelsea, where Clarke was a coach, and the respect remains despite both going separate ways after the London club dispensed with their services in June.

“It was a brilliant move by Kenny to bring him in at Liverpool,†said Zola. “Steve is a top coach. He has worked with great managers; with Jose Mourinho for years, with Ruud Gullit. He has had the opportunity to pick up a lot of things. To have him at your service is great and you see how the results have improved.â€

He believes Clarke has the ability to be a manager in the near future. “He is a very well-organised person. The players like him because the coaching sessions are always interesting, always different,†he said. “To be honest, after last year I thought he was going into it [being a No.1]. I don’t know, maybe he hasn’t found the opportunity yet. I am sure he will go into it because he has been doing the job for a while and doing it very well, so the next step is going to be to go on his own.â€

Clarke, he feels, can follow managers such as Owen Coyle to success in England. “I like him, I like his style of play,†he said of Coyle. “He is doing very well. He makes the team play first and then comes the result. He is doing a good job at Bolton and I like to see his teams play.â€

Zola, though, is clear-eyed about the merits of players in England this season. He believes there is no one in the Barclays Premier League with the stature of Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. “There is no superstar,†he said, though he admires Ryan Giggs immensely.

His views of the Welshman’s team mate, Darren Fletcher, chime with his belief that his own nation is producing good midfielders, but few with creativity. “He is a good player, but obviously you can not expect him to win games on his own. He is not that kind of player. Every great team needs a player like him. He is a player who works for Manchester United, but you can not expect in the national team for him to win games for you.â€

Zola, of course, played with a genius who routinely won games. His first encounter with Maradona showed the quality of the man. Aged 22, Zola joined Napoli in 1989, before winning Serie A the next season.

“I can tell you about the first day I met him. I looked like a stupid boy. I could not put two words together. I grew up looking up to him, so the first time I met him, I didn’t know what to say because I was afraid of saying something stupid, so I ended up being stupid because of that. He sympathised with me straight away. He helped me a lot, especially in those days when I was developing as a player.â€

Maradona set Naples ablaze with his performances on and off the park. The atmosphere in the city was intense as the Argentinian led them to their only two Serie A titles in 1987 and 1990. “I have never seen a game between Rangers and Celtic. They tell me it is unique, the atmosphere is quite something. I have not been blessed to have watched one, but I hope to be able to do so. Naples is unbelievable. I was there at the best moment and it was great to see 70,000 people dancing all together. People in Naples, they are crazy about football. It was fantastic.â€

The experience was made better by the presence of Maradona. Every player loved the stocky genius, said Zola. “It is just the way he was. He was very humble. He never made people around him feel he was the big, big star. He was a very down to earth person and that is what people liked in him more than anything,†said Zola.

The courteous Italian, who once stayed behind at training to practise free-kicks with Maradona, obviously picked up more than mere football skills from his mentor.

 

[Judge Jules]

Zola knows Clarke well so it's interesting that he pushes Clarke's credentials as a future manager. TBF he's not the first to have done so, but somebody on TalkSport the other day (can't remember exactly who but I think it was one of the resident Jockoes, Fat Alan Brazil or No-Neck Gray) was saying Clarke won't make that change, as he's doing what he's good at now and he knows it.

In any case Zola himself has hardly pulled up any trees as a manager, so perhaps he's not best placed to judge after all.

 

[hamstrung_pigeon]

[quote author=Judge Jules link=topic=43641.msg1305731#msg1305731 date=1301130210]
Zola knows Clarke well so it's interesting that he pushes Clarke's credentials as a future manager. TBF he's not the first to have done so, but somebody on TalkSport the other day (can't remember exactly who but I think it was one of the resident Jockoes, Fat Alan Brazil or No-Neck Gray) was saying Clarke won't make that change, as he's doing what he's good at now and he knows it.

In any case Zola himself has hardly pulled up any trees as a manager, so perhaps he's not best placed to judge after all.
[/quote]

I thought West Ham played some nice football under Zola (at least in the games I watched) but there's little money there and his bosses were a bit crazy. They're a club I hope will go down because of how they treated a very classy man.